Blog for shared misery ... er, Equality, 2010

A couple of local bloggers had sent around an email to other local bloggers asking them to post on gay marriage on this, the Blog for Equality Day 2010. And I am happy to do so, although I got a late start this morning (something happened with the clocks yesterday ????) and I couldn’t type anything ‘til now.

I have to say about the only thing I have to offer is to repeat a shtick I heard from some stand up guy (and I will probably mangle it). I remember he was setting it up by talking about how on a gay beach you will see these gay guys, and they are tan and obviously have time to work out and follow a careful diet and they look relaxed, non-stressed and great (this is, of course, a stereotype, but work with me here, people). Then you look at the straight men and women and they are pale and do not have time to work out or eat carefully (and it shows) and they have stressed features and lines and all. And the comedian says if the gays want to get married, please, let’s let them. Misery loves company (not that there’s anything wrong with it, … or does that work there?).

Well, it was funnier on TEEVEE. There are economic arguments against gay marriage, and then there are the religious/social arguments about the love that dare not speak its name. The economic arguments run along the line of not extending benefits to domestic partners (of the same gender) and perhaps inheritance rights. I believe I heard gay promiscuity blamed in part for not wanting to give domestic partners benefits, but oddly that supports the need for gay marriage. I would think my employer was being reckless if it extended health insurance to boyfriends or girlfriends (regardless of the employee’s sexual orientation), but a married partner implies the whole legal obligation. So by all means, let’s clear that up by establishing that people can get married regardless of orientation, and that they are married, with all the rights but also all of the obligations (and I guess all the stress).

As for the religious/social arguments, well, I don’t know if Gandhi was as nice as Ben Kingsley says he was, or what Morgan Freeman’s baritone timbre would tell us, or even what Hay-Seuss would drive. The West Wing had an episode (“The Midterms”, thank you Google) where Martin Sheen lectured a Dr Laura-like about how the Old Testament says more than just don’t be homosexual. There was also the bit about not eating shellfish, yes to selling daughters into slavery, football players not being able to touch pigskin, and putting people to death for working on the Sabbath.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a committed lapsed Unitarian who plans to maybe possibly attend services after the tax season, and I firmly believe in my own fuzzy interpretation of the New Testament gospels .. blessed are the cheese-makers (purveyors of dairy products in general) and the Greeks … er meek (which is nice, they get so little). Love thy neighbor, unless he or she is of thy same gender, in which case, only like thy neighbor in a socially appropriate way.

That sort of thing. That's what I'm for, sort of.